LAKE CHARLES, Louisiana
– HBU's defense kept the Huskies in the game, forcing four turnovers, but the offense couldn't answer McNeese in the second half as the Cowboys pulled away for a 27-12 victory in Southland Conference football Saturday night at Cowboy Stadium.
Senior linebacker
Garrett Dolan led the Huskies (1-3, 0-2 SLC) with 11 tackles, while senior safety
La'Travien Gee and junior linebacker
Kyle Bowling made seven tackles each. Junior cornerback
Raphael Lewis had two tackles and became the first player in HBU history to record two interceptions in a game, returning the first 21 yards for a touchdown and returning the second 36 yards down inside the 10-yard line.
Freshman quarterback
Bailey Zappe went 7-for-17 for 45 yards and two interceptions and led HBU with 36 rushing yards. Senior receiver
Ethan Fry had three catches and freshman
Dennis Houston had one for 14 yards.
James Tabary completed 17-of-30 passes for 184 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. David Hamm rushed for 74 yards and a score, while Kent Shelby caught four passes for 38 yards and a touchdown and Darious Crawley had two catches for 17 yards and a touchdown.
Ashari Goins made eight tackles for the Cowboys (3-1, 1-1) and Damion Morgan had four and returned an interception 40 yards. Colby Burton and Andre Fuller also made interceptions.
McNeese got on the board first on Gunnar Raborn's 40-yard field goal with 7:03 to go in the first, but HBU tied it on junior kicker
Alec Chadwick's 29-yarder with 2:15 remaining in the quarter. On the Cowboys' ensuing drive, Lewis stepped in front of a Tabary pass and returned it 21 yards for the score to give HBU a 10-3 lead with two minutes left.
In the second quarter, HBU turned the ball over on an interception late in the half and Raborn hit a 25-yard field goal to cut the Huskies' lead to 10-6 at halftime.
McNeese took the lead in the third when Tabary hit Shelby for a 14-yard touchdown reception with 4:28 left in the quarter. HBU's next drive stalled out at the McNeese 39 and Chadwick's 56-yard field goal attempt to tie had plenty of distance, but just missed wide to the left.
Lewis's second interception set the Huskies up at the 6-yard line, but senior running back
B.J. Kelly fumbled just before the goal line and the Cowboys pounced on it. On the next play, HBU's defense drove the McNeese line back and recorded a safety to make it a one-score game.
Fuller's interception set up Hamm's 1-yard touchdown plunge to seal the game with 38 seconds remaining on the clock.
The Huskies will have next week off, before hosting its first home game of the season against 12
th-ranked Central Arkansas Saturday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. at Husky Stadium.
